Last week I covered the first eight
of the sixteen Simpsons Lego mini-figures. This week I'm going
to hit up the final eight, including Scratchy, Marge, Lisa, Bart,
Grampa, Mr. Burns, Chief Wiggum and Krusty.

These come individually bagged, and yes, they are blind packs. You can
spend way too much time in the aisle feeling them up - that's what I
did - and you can manage to find a set without too many duplicates. I
managed to get my sixteen with one extra Flanders, three extra Apu's,
and an extra Mr. Burns, proving that the feel test isn't perfect.

When I first found these, I asked around to see if Lego was still
putting the little 'bumps' on the bottom of the package, with a
different combo for each character. The initial word was no, that
they'd stopped that, but after my last review I was pointed to this
handy guide by a reader.

I've seen these now at Meijer, Toys R Us and Target, and they range in
price from $3 to $4 each. The only other announced product so far is
the Simpsons house set, which is available as an exclusive through the
Lego stores or the Lego
online site.

Packaging - *
The little bags are cute enough, and show off the range of characters.
They're sturdy too, making the excessive handling that they go through
possible without damage.

Why all that handling? Because
they are blind bagged. Paying $4 each
for a little mini-figure isn't bad enough - you'll end up paying quite
a bit more by the time you've tried to find a full set. If you haven't
guessed by now, I hate blind packaging, and consider it one of the
lowest marketing gimmicks ever devised.

Sculpting - ****While the basic block figure doesn't
allow for much in the way of 'sculpting', the heads on these give them
all the personality and recognizability they need.

I'm quite
impressed with how close these come to the look on the show, even
with characters that don't fit the style quite as well, like Scratchy.
Some of the characters really do need a fatter body (Wiggum just
doesn't look right with his trim physique), but they have managed to get
the most out of the standard bodies and unique head sculpts.

And in case you have no idea how small these are, keep in mind that the adults are only about 2" tall. And that's the adults!

Paint - ****While most
of the details are tampo work, they are still very, very clean and
neat. Areas that aren't tampo printing are just as sharp, and I'm once again impressed
with the quality of the eyes. All the colors are accurate too, and very
bright and consistent. Unlike the first eight I checked out, these
didn't have a single issue.

Articulation - ***These
are Lego figures, so I'm pretty sure you know the drill. There's the
cut wrists, cut neck, cut shoulders, cut waist, and hinge hips for all the
adults. The kids, who are slightly shorter, lack the hinge hips.

That's
plenty for these to be a lot of fun, and that's the whole point, right?
If the Lego movie proved anything, it's that this is all the
articulation you need to save the world.

Accessories - ***
These guys don't come with a ton of extras, but one or two each is
reasonable.

Marge has two - a box of donuts,
and her large purse. Both fit in her hands nicely. Mr. Burns has a rod
of uranium, as well as a fish bowl with Blinky painted on the side,
making him appear as though he's in the bowl itself.

Chief Wiggum also has two - a
bullhorn and a baton - but he's the only other figure to be so
outfitted. Everyone else has just one extra: Lisa has her sax; Scratchy
has his ax; Krusty has a pie; and Bart has his skateboard. While the
skateboard might only count as one, it's certainly a much more complex
accessory than most.

They all have a small black Lego
base as well, although they stand great on their own.

It's also worth noting that you
can put accessories like Mr. Burns fishbowl, Krusty's pie, and Apu's
cup (from last review) in their hands. One side of the hand sticks up
farther from the wrist, and can operate just like a post on a standard
Lego brick, holding any of these other accessories.

Fun Factor - ****
Seriously, you have to ask? These are Lego for God's sake - they
invented fun!

The possibilities of combining
these with other sets and other lines is endless. Mr. Burns ruling over
Mordor, Homer hanging out on the Death Star, Chief Wiggum riding in a
patrol car...endless possibilities I tell ya!

Value - **
I'm docking the value score this time around because there's simply no
way you can pick the entire set up for retail, unless you're really,
really good with your fingers. Pay $3 - $4 each, and I'd up this
another half star, making it an average value. But since you'll end up
buying more than the 16 just to get the 16 (or pay a premium on ebay to
avoid the search), the value drops.

Things to Watch Out For -
People are going to give you very, very weird looks when you're
squishing the bags in the toy aisle. Try not to laugh maniacally when you
find the one you've been desperately searching for, as this can be a
tad off-putting to a normal person.

Overall - ***1/2
If not for the evil of blind packaging, these would be an easy four
star set. I love Lego, I love Simpsons, and the combination is one of those
rare times when two things really are better together. Or at least just
as good.

The saddest part is that we have
not yet heard any additional announcements on more mini-figures or more
sets. I can't imagine that these aren't selling like mad, making it
pretty obvious that the demand is there. There's no reason Lego
couldn't rival the Playmates World of Springfield series for variety and quantity - how cool would that be?

Where to
Buy
Your best bet is your local mass market retailers, like Meijer (where
they are just $3 each) or Target or Toys R Us (where they are higher at
$4 each). You can search
ebay for singles or sets and avoid the hunt as well.

The only other announced set so
far is the Simpsons house, which is exclusive to the Lego stores or the
online
store.

Related
Links -
I covered the first half of this set of 16 last week, and I've covered
a ton of other Simpsons products over the years. Recent items
include the mini-figures
from NECA, as well as the first series of NECA's larger
figures in two parts, here
and here.
I have a full listing of my past Simpsons reviews here,
as well as a long feature on the World of Springfield here.

You should also check out this
handy guide that can help in finding the figures you're still
missing.

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